Samvel davis



(NoModeL) S. DAVIS.

TIP FOR INSOLES.

No 263,489. Patented Aug. 29, 1882.

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arts STATES PATENT rrrca.

SAMUEL DAVIS, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

TIP FOR INSOLIIES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 263,489, dated August29, 1882.

Application filed April 21, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL DAVIS, a citizenof the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State ofNew York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Tips for theInsoles of Boots and Shoes, and the materials of which they aremanufactured, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tips for the insoles of boots and shoes, andto their manufacture; and it consists of a tip formed of some textilematerial stiffened with the compositions hereinafter mentioned, as a newarticle of manufacture.

The article known heretofore in the trade as the box-toe or tip wasformerly made of leather, which was expensive and difficult tomanufacture. Frequently the box-toes or tips were made a part of theinsole and could be manufactured only by skillful workmen. Later, tipsor box-toes were made of a substance termed in the hat-trade asgossamer, and consisted of muslin stiffened by shellac; but this wasobjectionable on account of the expense of the shellac, the fluctuationsin its value, the necessity of a peculiar expensive muslin wherewith tomanufacture it, and the further fact that moisture or damp weatherrenders the article difficult and fickle to manufacture.

The tip is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1represents the top of the tips after being pressed out of thematerialand before being cut into shape. Fig. 2 is a section of the same on' theline so :20 of Fig.1. Fig. 3 represents the tip when in place upon theinsole of a boot or shoe. Fig. 4: is a vertical section of the tipcomplete, and Fig. 5 a plan thereof.

The compositions hereinbefore referred to can be made in many ways outof the same materials, and consistof the following ingredients, combinedin proportions to suit the size and shape of tips and the purposesrequired. I have found them useful when combined in about the followingproportions; but this is not necessary to the manufacture ofa sufficienttip.

The ingredients mentioned in the difierent combinations may also bemixed with each other, irrespective of the arrangements Ihave given, insuch away as to suit the different purposes and to make the differentkinds of tips desired. 1 however prefer them for ordinary use when madeof the following ingredients,.combined in about the followingproportions: starch two pounds, glue one pound, chloride of zinc eightounces, water six gallons, muslin seventy yards or, starch one andthree-fourths pound, tapioca, sago, or other farinaceous material oneand one-eighth pound, Russia cement three ounces, chloride of zinc fourounces, water six gallons, muslin seventy yards. 4

The purpose of the chloride of zinc is very largely to prevent mildewand assistin rejecting and resisting moisture, which I have found inactual use to' be the enemy of all composition tips; but if thisproperty is not desired this constituent can be safely and properlyomitted from the mixture.

In carrying out the manufacture of the material by combining theseingredients I first take the muslin, cheesecloth, or other textilematerial and plunge it in hot water. I then saturate it with suchacomposition as is hereinbet'ore suggested. When saturated I usuallycombine it in several layers or thicknesses closely compacted; but itmay be manufactured single, if desired. The substance thus formed isrubbed together with pressure from both sides until it is thoroughlycombined, and is then either wholly or partially dried. If wholly dried,the material is then moistened, so as to soften it and render it moresusceptible to the action of dies. It is then placed between dies andpressed into shape. In this pressing I prefer heated dies for theeconomy and speed of drying the tips while being pressed, since thecomposition is readily hardened and dried by heat. This, however, is notnecessary, as in the case of the manufacture of tips by the use ofshellac, which yields only to heat, for the heat is used in my inventionsimply for thepurpose of haidening, and in the use ofshellac it isemployed solely for the purpose of softening the material. After thetips are thus stamped or pressed out, as appears in Figs. 1 and 2, theyare subjected to the action of cutters along the dotted lines in Fig. 1,

and the tips thus cut out appear complete, as in Figs. 4 and 5, and areready for use, as in Fig. 3.

The advantages I claim for my invention over all others are that themanufactured tip will not mildew, as will all others; thatit is muchcheaper, easier, and less fickle in its manufacture than any othercomposition tip hitherto in the market or known to me. In addition it isfound that tips stiffened by shellac or shellac compositions will notendure the strain of manuiacture, but when subjected to the continuousperforation by needles and blows of the hammer in making the shoe thatthe stiffening material pulverizes and sifts out as a dust, thus leavingthe tip insufficient for many uses, whereas the tip manufactured andclaimed by me is solidified, hardened, and stiltened by the sametreatment and benefited rather than injured thereby.

The tip thus manufactured is stiffer at the same thickness than anyother composition tip, and is much tougher and will not break or crackin bending, and is much less brittle than the shellac manufactures.

My invention in be distinguished upon examination by the foregoingqualities, and can be made of any desired color. If not dyed, it appearsin alight cream color; but I have heretofore uniformly in practice madeit of a bright leather color, which I prefer, but do not claim.

By my system a cheap and domestic textile material can be used; butother composition tips, especially if stiffened by shellac, require anexpensive material in place thereof in order to become properlystiffened and to constitute a reasonably sufiicient article.

The entire expense of manufacturing the tips according to my inventionis but a small fractional part of the usual expense of manufacturingother composition tips.

I am aware that a composition consisting of a textile material stiffenedby shellac has been in use, and that the tip, as a new article ofmanufacture, consisting thereof was patented by Letters Patent No.242,382, May 31, 1881, by M. Shuter and A. Davis; but I am not awarethat the tip as an improved article of manufacture made of the materialsdescribed by me was ever known or used prior to its invention by me.

I do not claim the combination of the ingredients hereinbefore mentionedas compositions of matter, because circumstances of size, thick- SAMUELDAVIS.

Witnesses WM. M. ADLER, J. A. SHERMAN.

